From Mother to Daughter
by LeanzaLestrange
Summary: Follow up to "The Nursery". Rachel finds the letter Shelby left for her.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This doesn't really follow how she actually met her mother, so please don't hate me for changing it. I like it better this way anyway.**

_Dear Rachel_,

_Here I sit in the room that will soon be your nursery. It is four weeks before your due date and I am very nervous. I cannot say I am anxious for your arrival into this world, for that means you will no longer be in my life. I love you very much, Rachel, and I hope you realize I did not abandon you and I never wanted to leave you._

_Your fathers are amazing men and they wanted nothing more than to have a baby girl to raise and love. They found me right as I was looking for a way to New York to become a famous Broadway star. They don't know this, but I already know that is no longer what I will do with my life. I will never make it to New York because I applied to Carmel High School as a music teacher so I can mentor those who need someone to guide them. I cannot be your mom but I can be a role model, almost like a mom, to a bunch of kids who value music the way I do._

_I don't know how old you are as you read this, but if you are old enough to understand, I signed a contract that says I will not contact you until you are eighteen. As I have told you where I will be after I give birth to you, you are free to find me. If you do not wish to meet me, I will understand. I will not raise you or be your mom; your fathers are there for that. They love you, Rachel, and I hope you never feel any animosity toward them._

_I hope you don't hate me, baby, because I love you so much and I only wish that I could have some kind of relationship with you. I know this will not make up for not being in your life, but I never used the money I was paid for having you. I put it all in a trust fund for you when you turn eighteen and decide what to do with your life. It is enough for college or living expenses should you find yourself in my place. After all, I am only twenty and I understand how drive can make you do things you never would have considered. If your fathers are already saving for that, which I assume they are, the money I have given you is for you to do good in the world. _

_I love you, my baby, and I know you will become a daughter I would be proud to call my own._

_With all my love, _

_Your Mom_

_Ps: I don't know what you've been told, so my name is Shelby Corcoran* if you don't know._

Rachel Berry wiped a tear from her eyes and grabbed her car keys. She was going to find her mother in Carmel, whether her fathers wanted her to or not. They told her that Shelby never tried to call or send her anything and now she knew why, she already left something and that was good enough. She loved her even though she never told anyone. Slipping on her coat, she ran from her bedroom and closed the door that still said RACHEL is pretty curvy letters with a gold star at the end.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! I wasn't going to continue but I decided to write another chapter for you guys.**

It was nearly eight in the evening when she made it to Carmel High School. There were no lights she could see from the front, but maybe, just maybe, her mother was inside. The building was old, older than McKinley; its structure somewhat intimidating. She had never seen their glee club perform but she assumed they would be just as intimidating as the building they practiced in. For a moment she wondered if they were in there at that moment, rehearsing harder than ever to stomp on Rachel's team. New Directions didn't stand a chance is what she heard from the other local teams. This particular performer though, was sure that would not happen…unless Shelby Corcoran, her mother, was the coach. There was no doubt in her mind that her talent came from the mother she never knew.

Rachel stepped out of the car hesitantly. What if after all this time Shelby didn't want to see her anymore? What if she changed her mind and regretted writing the letter at all? The sixteen year old shook her head, attempting to rid herself of the negativity. Her dream of meeting her mother had been with her longer than her dream of being on Broadway. That was saying something for one Rachel Barbara Berry, the girl who put a gold star at the end of her name everywhere she signed it. So with a new sense of confidence, she strolled up to the front doors and pulled.

The door didn't budge; of course it didn't, it was already past eight. Who in their right mind expected a school to be open that late at night? Rachel stared at the reflective glass. She wasn't her usual self, maybe it was a good thing her mother didn't meet her this way. Rachel wanted to show herself at her best, hair carefully in place and clothes picked with absolutely certainty. Instead she was wearing shorts so short her fathers had once threatened to burn them and Noah's McKinley football hoodie he had left the night before.

It was a weekly occurrence for his family to join hers for dinner after temple on Wednesday nights. Of course, no one at school or in glee club knew about the tradition, or knew they were actually pretty good friends when it was just the two of them. He had forgotten his jacket on her bed while they were singing some song she couldn't quite remember now. Cleaning through the attic, she had gotten cold and grabbed the first thing she saw. (No, she hadn't been looking for an excuse to smell his cologne and pretend he was close to her.)

At this moment she felt pretty foolish for having run from the house in such a desperate fervor. Her hair wasn't even done; it was thrown in a messy bun, bangs straight and pushed to the side. Rachel dropped to the ground and laid against the door she had just been desperate to walk through. A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek. Before she could wipe it away, the waterworks began and soon she was sobbing by herself in front of a school she didn't attend, the school her arch rivals in glee inhabited.

An hour passed before she stopped crying and dragged herself back to her shiny silver car. Rachel found it shocking even to herself that she couldn't find it in her heart to sing on the way back home.

**Sorry guys! Next chapter we will find out how Rachel actually meets her mother.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So, I wanted to apologize for such a short chapter last time! I hope you like this one. Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy with work and school lately. ****-Leanza**

* * *

Rachel returned to an empty house. Her fathers had been away on a business trip for the last few days and weren't due to return for another week. She contemplated calling Noah to come over but decided against it. She didn't want to ruin his night by crying about her mother and her trip to Carmel the whole time. Instead she walked silently to her bedroom and sat down without a clue as to what was supposed to happen next. For once in her life, Rachel Berry didn't have a plan.

Without another thought, Rachel went through her nightly routine. The shower worked through the knots in her back from being crumpled on the ground outside the high school. She applied anti wrinkle/blemish cream to her face and dried her hair into soft curls for tomorrow. In a tank top and shorts she laid out on her bed and turn on her lap top with her web cam. She couldn't deprive her fans just because of her own tumultuous problems. She stood in front of the camera and took a breath before streaming her live video.

"This song is for my mom who I have recently found out, loves me a lot more than I ever knew."

_I dreamed a dream in times gone by  
When hope was high  
And life worth living  
I dreamed that love would never die  
I dreamed that God would be forgiving  
Then I was young and unafraid  
And dreams were made and used and wasted  
There was no ransom to be paid  
No song unsung  
No wine un-tasted_

_But the tigers come at night  
With their voices soft as thunder  
As they tear your hope apart  
And they turn your dream to shame_

_And still I dream she'll come to me  
That we'll live the years together  
But there are dreams that cannot be  
And there are storms we cannot weather  
I had a dream my life would be  
So much different from this hell I'm living  
So different now from what it seemed  
Now life has killed  
The dream I dreamed._

Rachel turned off the camera and posted the video before laying back in bed to think about things. Her mother was only one town away, teaching English (Rachel's best subject), and coaching her glee club. What if Rachel attended Carmel? Would she have found out about Shelby sooner? Most likely. The teen pulled the covers over her and tried to erase her mind of the mountain of thoughts piling in. For the first time in a while, Rachel really prayed with meaning, and she asked that her mother would still love her the way she claimed in the letter.

Waking the next morning, Rachel had decided she wouldn't be going to school today and she would probably miss glee as well if things went according to plan. So she sent a quick text to Kurt Hummel, her best friend to everyone's surprise, even her own. "_Won't be in Glee today; I have to go out of town."_ She dressed carefully in a black skirt with a dark red blouse. It was something a little toned down from her usual dress, but she didn't want to overwhelm her mother. Even the brunette wasn't oblivious of the effect her clothing had on people. Once her hair and make up were fixed through slightly obsessive compulsive mannerisms, Rachel walked to her car in anticipation.

The car ride was nerve racking; the sixteen year old was breathing shallowly and shaking slightly by the time she pulled into the parking lot. The night before it had been very empty and now it was full of parked cars and an occasional student walking through the lot. No one would know she didn't belong, this was a huge school and there was no way someone could know ALL the students. The woman who strolled past her did seem to detect something and she paused for a moment in front of Rachel's car. She never looked over though, and Rachel disregarded her from her thoughts. She had more things to worry about than some teacher pausing in front of her car.

After singing "Funny Girl" to boost her confidence, the teen emerged from the drivers seat and walked slowly to the front of the school. There was most definitely someone there now to point her Shelby Corcoran's way. Rachel took a deep breath and stepped through the glass doors, trying to keep herself from reconsidering. The elderly woman at the front desk spotted her before she could change her mind.

"May I help you dear?"

Rachel paused. They wouldn't just allow her to walk freely through the school to talk to the woman who may or may not be her mother. "I'm new here and I am looking for Ms. Corcoran's classroom." She listened closely as the woman gave her directions around the campus excitedly.

"…It will be great to have you here, dear. And my, my I wonder if Ms. Corcoran will recognize the resemblance between to two of you. It really is quite remarkable." Rachel thanked her politely and excused herself to find the classroom she would find her mother in.

Down the hallway Rachel allowed her thoughts to overcome her. Was the woman correct in saying they bare a remarkable resemblance? Rachel never really thought about her looking like the woman who gave birth to her. For some reason she never really could think of what her mother would look like. Finally, she made it to the door and opened it silently. The teacher at the front of the room didn't bother to look up but Rachel recognized her as the woman who paused in front of her car that morning. And once again, she stopped what she was doing and remained still for a moment before returning to her reading.

The other students were sitting quietly as she read aloud Shakespeare's "Othello" dramatically. Rachel was captivated by her mother's emotion just reading the novel. She couldn't imagine singing with the woman if she had a beautiful voice just speaking. The class passed in this way and it seemed Shelby was so engrossed in her reading that she never looked up to see Rachel in the back row. The teen admired her passion for reading, fore Rachel put that kind of passion into anything and everything she attempted to do. After all, what kind of star would she be if she didn't shine all the time?

As the bell rang, Shelby slipped a marker in between the pages of her book and announced it was homework for everyone to read the next three chapters. Then she looked at her students, all of which she knew instinctively. Instead of seeing all of the usual faces, Shelby spotted Rachel still sitting in the back desk among the crowd, staring with a racing heart. Their eyes met and this was the moment they had both been waiting for.


End file.
